How the Kansas City Royals emerged as a division leader

Associated Press

Published
6:12 pm PDT, Friday, August 29, 2014

Kansas City, --

Mo. - The recipe for small-market success in baseball generally goes something like this: Develop talent through your farm system, strike on a couple reclamation projects, uncover a few diamonds in the rough and then make one or two big trades to put you over the top.

The Kansas City Royals have followed that blueprint to near-perfection, a big reason why the long-downtrodden franchise is leading the AL Central and on the cusp of its first playoff appearance in nearly 30 years.

Indeed, the notoriously frugal Royals play in a market a fraction of the size of Los Angeles or New York. They draw smaller crowds that pay a pittance compared to Angels and Yankees fans. And the result is a much thinner checkbook than most of their big league brethren.

The Royals' opening-day payroll? Just over $91 million, a record for the club. But midway through last week, the five other division leaders - the Orioles, Angels, Nationals, Brewers and Dodgers - had an average payroll of nearly $147 million. And the Tigers, who are chasing the division-leading Royals, were shelling out more than $163 million.

So, how have the Royals done it? How have they turned around an entire franchise accustomed to losing given the financial situation inherent in the game? Well, Moore provided a step-by-step look at the recipe, and it all started with:

Developing players: The Royals had one of the worst farm systems in baseball when Moore arrived in 2006. But several years of high draft picks - thank you very much, 100-loss seasons - gave him a chance to replenish. First baseman Eric Hosmer, third baseman Mike Moustakas and catcher Salvador Perez are homegrown players who are regular starters.

Reclamation projects: The Royals gave away virtually nothing a couple years ago for Jeremy Guthrie, and he's proven to be a reliable starter. They gave Jason Vargas a $32 million contract this past offseason, even though he was merely mediocre with the Angels last season, and he's outperformed the deal in almost every way. Vargas is 10-6 with a career-best 3.17 ERA.

Diamonds in the rough: The Royals signed Perez as a 16-year-old from Venezuela, and now the 24-year-old catcher is a two-time All-Star. Yordano Ventura signed for a $28,000 bonus in 2008 and the rookie flamethrower is 10-9 with a 3.40 ERA. All-Star closer Greg Holland was drafted in the 10th round out of Western Carolina, and speedy outfielder Jarrod Dyson in the 50th round from a Mississippi junior college.

Big moves: The Royals have made two blockbuster trades since Moore's arrival, and both of them have proved critical in establishing their winning roster.

The first happened in 2010, the Royals traded Cy Young winner Zack Greinke to Milwaukee for a package of prospects that included outfielder Lorenzo Cain and shortstop Alcides Escobar, both of them now starters. The second deal happened prior to last season, when the Royals sent several top prospects to Tampa Bay for key pitchers James Shields and Wade Davis.